2-Inch Obsidian Blade Found in Texas Could Unravel Mysteries of the Spanish 'City of Gold' Expedition

The obsidian blade found in Texas decades ago could have shed new information about the Spanish expedition in search of the fabled "City of Gold." Researchers are hopeful it could help them determine the path of the excursion.

Obsidian Blade From City of Gold Expedition

The 2-inch obsidian blade could have been dropped by one member of the Spanish expedition who was searching for the "City of Gold," according to a new study conducted by anthropologist Matthew Boulanger of Southern Methodist University. They are hopeful that it could help them determine the route taken during the expedition that happened centuries ago.

The voyage was headed by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado (1510-1554) and took place between 1540 and 1542. During this time, Coronado and his companions traveled through sections of Native Americans in what is now known as Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Kansas on foot, which also included Native Americans.

There has been much discussion and dispute over Coronado's route through the southern Great Plains and the American Southwest, according to Boulanger. The precise route he traveled across New Mexico is widely known since numerous big cities home to Indigenous Puebloan peoples were visited by his entourage. It's just a matter of joining the dots from each place they visited to reconstruct their trip across New Mexico.

The Great Plains, on the other hand, presented the expedition with a large, level expanse without any distinct landmarks to describe-that is, no geographical dots to connect.

Therefore, until the group arrived at the [Wichita Indian] settlement of Quivira in southern Kansas, researchers had no way of knowing exactly where the group was, even though there were written journals from the expedition's participants.

Historians and archaeologists have argued over the precise route taken by the expedition across Texas and Oklahoma for more than a century. However, the expedition's notebooks, which provide hazy descriptions of canyons, valleys, and streams, serve as the same constrained source of information for all of these researchers.

But if supporting evidence can be located, the obsidian blade-a form of naturally occurring volcanic glass-may offer tangible proof of the expedition's route, according to Boulanger.

There is now just one other known location connected to Coronado in Texas, and it is located roughly 150 miles south of the property where this piece of obsidian was discovered. Thus, the small fragment of obsidian serves as a second dot, helping Boulanger and his colleagues to better piece together Coronado's trip over the Texas Panhandle.

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How Did The Obsidian Blade End Up in Texas?

After analyzing the blade chemically, the anthropologist concluded that the blade came from Central Mexico's Sierra de Pachuca range. This location was used by native people to make cutting tools out of obsidian until the Spanish conquest of the 1500s.

However, how did a Central Mexican obsidian blade make its way to the Texas Panhandle? The anthropologist examined three theories in the study because there isn't any conclusive proof of a trading network linking the Indigenous peoples of the two regions prior to the invasion.

The first is that the blade was acquired by Charlene Erwin's father-in-law via trade or exchange with other collectors. Erwin's father-in-law discovered it on a ranch in the Texas Panhandle, close to McLean, in the 1930s. Second, the blade was fake and was intended to garner attention for Erwin and his collection. The third theory suggests that the artifact might be something that was left behind by one of the few Spanish expeditions that traveled through the Texas Panhandle in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, especially the Coronado expedition.

In 1541, this expedition traveled across the Panhandle of Texas. And although the precise path Coronado took through the area is unknown, what is known at this time indicates that the group went through or near McLean, where Erwin's father-in-law was raised and amassed a collection of relics.

Boulanger concluded that the third theory is most plausible after evaluating the facts that were provided, which included assembling the father-in-law's travel itinerary and speaking with the family.

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